World War II Mikhail Baranov

1 world war ii

1.1 first victories
1.2 battle of stalingrad
1.3 aerial battle on 6 august 1942

world war ii
first victories

flying yakovlev yak-1 fighter, baranov claimed 2 first victories on 22 , 28 september (one bf.109 each) no actual german losses match claims. on 30 october 1941 intercepted henschel hs.126 on artillery correction mission escorted quartet of messerschmitts. baranov shot down both henschel , bf.109. later same day shot down junkers ju 88 crew captured. luftwaffe records confirms 40% damage on hs.126 b-1 w.nr. 3457 of 3.(h)/32, , loss of bf 109|bf.109f-4]] w.nr.5288 of oberleutant walter höckner (staffelkapitän of 6./jg 77, experte 68 victories), , ju.88a-5 w.nr. 4037 of 1./kg 77

on 8 november 1941, baranov again shot down 2 aircraft: henschel aircraft , 1 of escorting bf 109s. shortly afterwards, baranov shot down 5 bf 109s , fell, wounded, behind enemy lines. in spite of broken leg evaded german troops , reached soviet lines. recovered wounds baranov added ju 88 , hs 126 score on 24 december 1941 , 17 february 1942 respectively.

battle of stalingrad

baranov s unit - 183rd fighter regiment of 269th air division) - part of 8th air army. in mid july 1942 8th air army faced brunt of assault of luftflotte 4 supporting drive of german 6th army towards stalingrad across don bend.

among baranov s daily adversaries experienced elite fighter units jg 3, ii./jg 52 , i./jg 53, , ju 87s of stg 2. on 22 july baranov claimed bf.109, first victory during battle of stalingrad, followed second messerschmitt on 24th. on 25 july 1942 commander of luftflotte 4, wolfram von richthofen, sent stukas of i. , ii./stg 2, escorted italian macchi c.200 fighters, suppress soviet strongholds along chir river, , baranov s 183rd regiment intercepted. in ensuing dogfight baranov shot down stuka , macchi c.200 - ju 87d-3 of staffelkapitän of 4./stg 2) , macchi of sottotenente gino lionello (21 gruppo caccia). both airmen injured.

two days later on 27 july, baranov claimed 3 more victories - 2 messerschmitt fighters , stuka, followed third ju 87 on 4 august, , 2 bf.109s on 5th. @ time score stood @ 21.

aerial battle on 6 august 1942

at dawn on 6 august 1942 3 yak-1s of 183 iap took off escort il-2s of 504th ground attack regiment, bombing targets near abganerovo. aircraft flown baranov , 2 wingmen. reaching target, encountered 2 dozen stukas escorted 4 messerschmitts. baranov performed head-on attack, shooting down 1 of bf 109s. while wingmen engaged remaining german fighters, baranov pursued ju 87s , downed 1 (the crew captured), , forced remaining drop ordnance prematurely. baranov , wingmen returned il-2s in time engage group of bf 109s. baranov shot down 2 of them, ran out of ammunition, ramming third bf 109. wounded in leg.

two of victims day can corroborated - ju 87 of 4./stg 2, pilot taken prisoner, , bf 109 of 3./jg 53. other german losses match baranov s claims, luftwaffe reported them accidental or downed anti-aircraft fire. baranov not prominent ace, capable leader: inspiring men of 183 regiment score 35 victories 1 july 8 august 1942; remaining 4 regiments of 269 air division (6th, 148th, 254th , 864th regiments) scored 32 in total. 183rd regiment lost 12 yak-1s (the whole division lost 47 yaks , laggs).

on 12 august baranov received title of hero of soviet union , order of lenin. national hero, performed several propaganda tours front-line aerodromes, training schools , factories boost moral.